Miconia matosiana Bécquer & Michelang., 2022

Bécquer, Eldis R., Bochorny, Thuane, Gavrutenko, Maria & Michelangeli, Fabián A., 2022, A revision of the “ basal-axile placentation clade ” of Miconieae, the newly erected Miconia sect. Liogieria (Melastomataceae: Miconieae) from the Greater Antilles, Willdenowia 52 (3), pp. 387-432 : 409

6. Miconia matosiana Bécquer & Michelang. , sp. nov. – Fig. 13.

Holotype: Cuba, Prov. Santiago de Cuba, Segundo Frente, Sierra Cristal, Charrascales de las estribaciones de Sierra Cristal, parteagua divisorio de las provincias Santiago de Cuba y HolguÍn, 900–1020 m, 21 Oct 2000, Bécquer E. & Matos J. HFC-79821 ( HAJB 001269 !; isotype: NY 04239388 !).

Diagnosis — Species resembling Miconia grisebachiana Bécquer & Michelang. but differing by its leaves with apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes slightly emarginate (vs obtuse to acute, or acuminate), secondary venation slightly suprabasal, with internal secondary veins merging 1.6–1.8 mm above base (vs secondary venation basal), hypanthium conspicuously conic and 12-ridged (vs hypanthium turbinate and 4-ridged). Hypanthium shape of M. matosiana unique among Cuban Melastomataceae .

Morphological description — Shrubs 2–2.5 m tall. Young branches flattened, densely tomentose, with a mix of mostly roughened and appressed trichomes and a few stellate trichomes, indumentum later becoming matted and amorphous. Petiole 0.4–0.5 cm long, carinate, densely tomentose; leaf blade 2.5–3.4 × 1.2–1.6 cm, elliptic to elliptic-obovate, base obtuse, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes slightly emarginate, margin entire, flat to revolute, coriaceous; abaxial surface light brown to grey (when dry) and densely pubescent with stellate trichomes obscuring surface and veins on young leaves, later becoming whitish and glabrescent on secondary and tertiary veins; adaxial surface flat, whitish pubescent when young, later glabrescent, drying light green to yellowish. Venation with 1 pair of secondary veins, slightly suprabasal, originating 1.6–1.8 mm above base, symmetric; midvein slightly impressed adaxially and prominent abaxially, secondary veins flat adaxially and slightly prominent abaxially, tertiary and quaternary veins inconspicuous. Mite domatia absent. Flowers solitary, terminal, pseudopedicel absent; bracts if present early caducous, bracteoles c. 1.3 mm long, caducous. Flowers 6-merous; pedicel 0.1–0.2 cm long, thick. Hypanthium c. 0.5 × 0.6 cm, conspicuously conic, 12-ridged, outside densely brown to ferruginous, trichomes roughened toward base, stellate toward apex, later becoming matted and amorphous. Calyx (in immature fruits) campanulate, truncate; calyx lobes c. 0.27 cm wide, not extended, broadly triangular, totally and permanently fused (not tearing after anthesis); calyx teeth 0.5– 0.6 cm long, linear, laterally flattened toward base, connected to hypanthial ridge, acute. Petals 6 and stamens 12 (not seen but evidenced by scars in apex of hypanthium). Ovary 2-locular, free portion conic, with locule included, not ridged, densely white tomentose toward apex; placentation basal. Style not seen. Berries not seen. Seeds c. 2 × 1 mm (immature), ovoid, not angular, raphe flat to slightly projected, testa papillate.

Phenology — Flowering probably in August or September, because the only known collection with old hypanthia is from October.

Distribution and ecology — Miconia matosiana is endemic to E Cuba ( Fig. 5), in the Sierra de Cristal (HolguÍn). It grows in semi-arid montane serpentine shrub woods ( Borhidi 1996) at 900–1100 m.

Informal conservation status — Miconia matosiana is known only from the type gathering made in 2000. Only a single individual was found in one of the most conserved and inaccessible places in Cuba, within the National Park Pico Cristal. The EOO and AOO are estimated to be 1 km 2. We estimated that its population is very small, probably less than 50 mature individuals, therefore, we recommend an assessment of Critically Endangered ( CR) under criterion D .

Etymology — This species is dedicated to the Cuban botanist Jesús Matos Mederos (1960–), who accompanied the first author when the only known gathering of this enigmatic species was collected. Matos has spent much of his life working on the conservation of the Cuban flora.

Discussion — Miconia matosiana is known only from the recent type gathering made on the peaks of Sierra Cristal by the first author. It is surprising that despite the level of knowledge of the Cuban flora, there are still plants that remain unknown to science and that have not been collected in the almost 200 years of botanical exploration.

Vegetatively Miconia matosiana resembles M. grisebachiana (a species not in M. sect. Liogieria) by its leaf shape, the whitish indumentum on the abaxial leaf surface and the light green-yellowish colour of the adaxial leaf surface when dry. However, M. matosiana has the leaf apex obtuse to rounded or slightly emarginate (vs obtuse to acute or acuminate in M. grisebachiana ) and secondary venation slightly suprabasal, placed 1.6– 1.8 mm above the base (vs secondary venation basal). The two species also differ markedly by the shape of the hypanthium, which is conspicuously conic and 12-ridged in M. matosiana (vs hypanthia turbinate and 4-ridged in M. grisebachiana ). Most importantly, the placentation of M. matosiana is completely basal, with reduced placentation and the locules of the ovary not extending into the free portion of the hypanthium (vs placentation axile, deeply intruded, with locules extending into the free portion of the hypanthium in M. grisebachiana ). This last feature constitutes the synapomorphy of a small group of species that includes M. bissei (Bécquer) Bécquer & Michelang. (≡ Calycogonium bissei Bécquer ), M. cupeyalensis Bécquer & Michelang. (≡ C. floribundum Borhidi ), M. pseudofloribunda (Bécquer) Bécquer & Michelang. (≡ C. pseudofloribundum Bécquer ), M. perezii (Alain) Bécquer & Michelang. (= C. revolutum Alain ) and M. lindmanii (Urb.) Bécquer & Michelang. (= Pachyanthus reticulatus Britton & P. Wilson ) ( Bécquer Granados 2010, 2011) and that is not closely related to M. sect Liogieria ( Gavrutenko & al. 2020; Majure & al. 2022). Lastly, the conic and 12-ridged hypanthium characteristic of M. matosiana not only distinguishes it from the rest of M. sect. Liogieria, but also from all other Antillean melastomes. Flowers at anthesis of M. matosiana are unknown because the only gathering possesses mature hypanthia that had already lost the petals, stamens and style. However, the characteristics of the hypanthia leave no doubt that this is an undescribed species and the presence of basal placentation places this species in M. sect. Liogieria.